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LONDON: Taking offence at the attire of a fellow shopper, a 60-year-old lawyer ripped off a Muslim woman's burqa in a clothing shop, in what is being described by the police as France's first case of rage against the Islamic veil.
During a weekend shopping trip the woman lawyer had an argument over the attire following which the pair came to blows before being arrested. The incident happened due to growing racial tensions in the country, as France prepares to introduce a total ban on burqas and other forms of religious dress, which cover the face, the Telegraph reports.
The woman lawyer made snide remarks about a 26-year-old Muslim convert's burqa while walking through the store in Trignac, near Nantes, in the western Loire-Atlantique region, the paper said on Tuesday.
At one point the lawyer, who was out with her daughter, is said to have likened the Muslim woman to Belphegor, a horror demon character well known to French TV viewers. Belphegor is said to haunt the Louvre museum in Paris and frequently covers up his hideous features using a mask.
A police officer close to the case said: "The lawyer said she was not happy seeing a fellow shopper wearing a veil and wanted the ban introduced as soon as possible."
"The shop manager and the husband of the Muslim woman moved to break up the fighting," the officer said. All three were arrested and taken to the local gendarmerie for questioning.
A spokesman for Trignac police said that two complaints had been received, with the Muslim woman accusing the lawyer of racial and religious assault. The latter, in turn, had accused her opponent of common assault.
The French parliament has adopted a formal motion declaring burkas and other forms of Islamic dress to be "an affront to the nation's values". A ban, which could be introduced as early as the autumn, would make France the second country after Belgium to outlaw the Islamic veil in public places.
But many have criticized the anti-burqa lobby, which includes the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, for stigmatising Muslim housewives.
During a weekend shopping trip the woman lawyer had an argument over the attire following which the pair came to blows before being arrested. The incident happened due to growing racial tensions in the country, as France prepares to introduce a total ban on burqas and other forms of religious dress, which cover the face, the Telegraph reports.
The woman lawyer made snide remarks about a 26-year-old Muslim convert's burqa while walking through the store in Trignac, near Nantes, in the western Loire-Atlantique region, the paper said on Tuesday.
At one point the lawyer, who was out with her daughter, is said to have likened the Muslim woman to Belphegor, a horror demon character well known to French TV viewers. Belphegor is said to haunt the Louvre museum in Paris and frequently covers up his hideous features using a mask.
A police officer close to the case said: "The lawyer said she was not happy seeing a fellow shopper wearing a veil and wanted the ban introduced as soon as possible."
"The shop manager and the husband of the Muslim woman moved to break up the fighting," the officer said. All three were arrested and taken to the local gendarmerie for questioning.
A spokesman for Trignac police said that two complaints had been received, with the Muslim woman accusing the lawyer of racial and religious assault. The latter, in turn, had accused her opponent of common assault.
The French parliament has adopted a formal motion declaring burkas and other forms of Islamic dress to be "an affront to the nation's values". A ban, which could be introduced as early as the autumn, would make France the second country after Belgium to outlaw the Islamic veil in public places.
But many have criticized the anti-burqa lobby, which includes the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, for stigmatising Muslim housewives.
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